Days after her teammate penned an op-ed in support of including trans athletes in sports, Alex Morgan backed her teammate by calling trans inclusion a “human rights issue.”
On Sunday, U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) player Becky Sauerbrunn wrote an op-ed in her home state newspaper, the Springfield News-Leader, in which she criticized Missouri lawmakers for proposing a law that would ban males identifying as females from competing in girls’ sports.
“The proposed ‘Save Women’s Sports Act’ does nothing to protect or support girls and women in sports,” Sauerbrunn wrote. “If those putting forth this legislation actually listened to the needs and concerns of women in sports, they would outline clear steps to protect women and girls from the rampant sexual assault and harassment plaguing sports — issues we’ve been fighting in the NWSL. They would clarify what’s being done to ensure all institutions in Missouri are Title IX compliant. They would outline a plan to promote equal pay for women athletes. They would ensure young women and girls have equitable resources in sport, especially young women and girls of color. Instead, they’re pushing kids away from the life-changing power of sports, forever depriving them of the invaluable lessons sport teaches, and the best friends they would find on their teams.”
On Wednesday, in an interview with The Athletic’s Meg Linehan asked Morgan for her thoughts on her teammate’s stance. Morgan fully backed Sauerbrunn and called her a “true leader.”
“The inclusion of trans kids in sports is the inclusion of kids in sports,” Morgan said. “Everyone should have the ability to play sport.”
Of course, Morgan does a fantastic job of twisting and distorting the issue into something that it’s not. No one has ever said transgender athletes can’t play sports. The issue is the safety and fairness of allowing them to compete against female athletes.
Morgan should know better than anyone that the playing field is anything but level when males and females compete against each other.
In 2017, the under-15 boys team affiliated with MLS organization FC Dallas thrashed the U.S. Women’s National Team by a score of 5-2.
If a squad of boys undergoing early puberty can overwhelm one of the best adult female soccer teams in the world, how could including biological male athletes in girls’ sports be considered fair?
And it’s not as though the issues of solely that of fairness. There are also safety implications to consider.
In December of last year, a male player at a transgender hockey tournament concussed a female opponent when he barely collided with her near the bench.
Sauerbrunn and Morgan are also being hypocrites. The “save Women’s Sports Act,” and other similar laws target only K-12 athletic competition. If several males identifying as females suddenly wanted to join the U.S. Women’s National Team and directly threatened their spots on the roster, they would likely have a different take on the issue.